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Roger Thomas, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy, presented a gubernatorial proclamation on behalf of Gov. Steve Beshear declaring Nov. 21-27 as Farm-City Week in Kentucky at the 2008 Farm City Luncheon held in Louisville.

The luncheon was held in conjunction with the world’s largest, purebred livestock exposition, Louisville’s own North American International Livestock Exposition.

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, many of us already are beginning to plan our holiday meals. As we begin meal preparations, we should not forget the hard work and long hours Kentucky farmers put in every day to ensure we have food on our tables.

During this season, you can show your gratitude to farmers in your community by preparing your Thanksgiving meal from locally grown products.

LaRue County Goat Producers meet at 7 p.m. Nov. 20 at the LaRue County Extension Service office in Hodgenville. The speaker will be Tess Caudill, Kentucky Department of Agriculture sheep and goat marketing specialist. Her topic will be market update for sheep and goats. A gyro platter meal will be served. All interested individuals are invited to attend.

Open House planned

Lee’s Garden Center plans a Christmas open house for Nov. 28-29. For more information call (270) 358-9897 or e-mail slee107308@aol.com.

It’s that time of year when Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations mingle on the store shelves. And, that jolly old elf – Santa Claus – is already checking his list to see who’s been naughty or nice before he makes his rounds on Christmas Eve.

Santa has a lot of work to do to prepare for that evening, so once again, the staff of The LaRue County Herald News is cooperating with him to deliver wish lists for LaRue County children.

Numerous field fires have kept volunteer firefighters busy this month and Sunday was no different, as they responded to two separate incidents.

Drought-like conditions the last two growing seasons have created a skimpy hay harvest. Sunday, a LaRue County farmer watched $600 worth of the precious commodity go up in smoke.

Sherman Skaggs had 14 large rolls of hay stored in a fence row off Hawkins Road. A witness said residents at a nearby house started a fire in a garden area and it quickly spread into the field, igniting the hay rolls.

Even though the majority of the state is in the midst of a drought, hay supplies are up from last year. However, some livestock producers still will need to find an additional hay source to get through the winter, said Tom Keene, hay marketing specialist with the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture.

“Overall, we are in decent to fair shape on cattle hay going into the winter,” he said. “Producers who use high quality hay to feed dairy cattle and horses will likely need to import additional quantities this year to have a sufficient supply.”

David Brown of Hodgenville and Byron Nelson of Vine Grove were elected to the local board at the Southern States annual membership meeting of Hardin Coop, held Aug. 22 in Hodgenville. More than 50 stockholder-members and their families attended.

Steve Berry of Hodgenville was elected chairman/president of the local board, while Charles Crutcher of Rineyville was named vice chairman/vice president.

Reviewing local operations and services was Clint Merritt, manager, Hodgenville. He reported that total operating volume for the past year was about $6.1 million.

David Brown of Hodgenville and Byron Nelson of Vine Grove were elected to the local board at the Southern States annual membership meeting of Hardin Coop, held Aug. 22 in Hodgenville. More than 50 stockholder-members and their families attended.

Steve Berry of Hodgenville was elected chairman/president of the local board, while Charles Crutcher of Rineyville was named vice chairman/vice president.

Reviewing local operations and services was Clint Merritt, manager, Hodgenville. He reported that total operating volume for the past year was about $6.1 million.

Thirty-one preschoolers at Laugh-N-Learn daycare strapped on their biking helmets, hopped on their tricycles and pedaled for all they were worth to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

It’s the fifth year the daycare has participated in the Trike-A-Thon, an event that provides funding for research of catastrophic childhood diseases, primarily cancer.

Friday afternoon, Tom Smith and his horse Carol Ann dropped by City Hall to purchase a business license. The duo will offer carriage rides in downtown Hodgenville this fall.

Smith, who lives in Lyons Station with his wife Phyllis, has been offering the horse and buggy service for weddings, parties and similar events for some time. He plans to bring Carol Ann and a white vis-à-vis (face-to-face) carriage – also called a sweetheart carriage – to the square during Lincoln Days, Christmas on the Square and the monthly classic car cruise-ins.

Fifty-four seventh-grade students at LaRue County Middle School have been invited to participate in the annual Talent Search conducted by the Talent Identification Program at Duke University in Durham, N.C. The program identifies very bright students from TIP’s 16 state search area.

A large crowd of students, parents and volunteers visited Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site on Sept. 12 for “A Walk Through Lincoln’s Life.”

Several interpreters dressed in period costume provided living history demonstrations including a military encampment, the dulcimer, blacksmithing, weaving, basket making, yarn spinning and rail-splitting.

Trisha Yearwood, who has racked up 19 Top 10 country music singles and is a three-time Grammy Award winner, will headline a free concert this weekend at Fort Knox.

Operation Celebration “A salute to the American family’’ will feature Yearwood on Sunday, Sept. 28, at Godman Army Airfield on post. The free event begins at 6 p.m. with Katie Rae Davis and Gary Nichols serving as opening acts.